Beauty & lifestyle

christmas

How about some ethically sourced beauty products from Haiti for the loved ones on your gift list this year? Sounds good huh..let me introduce you to Kreyol Essence. I love the story behind the brand and also how the brand is focused on creating jobs for the locals in Haiti, especially women! Their star product is Black Castor oil from Haiti which is great for your hair and skin.

I love products developed on long standing ancient wisdom from different cultures because there is usually an ounce of truth in grandma’s beauty secrets ( unless it has been proven dangerous by modern science). I was thus quite excited to try out Kreyol Essence products since I have heard about castor oil being great for your hair and eyebrows but never knew that it was a great moisturizer for your skin too! Check out their website (HERE) to learn more about the brand, castor oil and how they are a social impact driven company.

I can attest to the fact that Cafe au lait and Mango, Papaya Coconut Rhum punch smell delicious enough to eat! (Do not eat!! :D) Lavender Hibiscus and Haitian Vetiver have very soothing and calming scents..perfect to slather on to your skin after a late night shower to lull you into dreamland.

The body butters are triple whipped and look so dreamy in the tub (again makes me want to eat them 😀 ).

Triple whipped and luxurious!

All of these body butters are infused with Haitian Castor seed oil and enriched with a whopping 30% of shea butter. They do not contain any parabens, mineral oil or petroleum products. I really like the ingredient list of these body butters. Take a look!

Ingredient list of the Cafe Au Lait body butter

I think these body butters make fantastic gifts..they are available in different sizes so you can always pick up a few of the smaller sizes as stocking stuffers!

When Kreyol Essence sent me these body butters they also sent along 3 vials of their scented Haitian Black Castor oils. These can be used on the hair, scalp or as a post shower body oil. I plan to test them out as body oil since they smell amazing! They sent me the chocolate, Rosemary Mint and Lavender Hibiscus. I can smell them without opening the seal completely. I didn’t open them up completely since I didn’t want these to go rancid… I am currently going through my stash of body oil you see 🙂

Haitian Scented Castor oils

Kreyol Essence has a ton of gift options and gift boxes on their website currently. Some of the gift boxes are marked down so check them out!!

Overall, I am very impressed with the body butters and look forward to trying some of the other products on their website. Have you tried anything from Kreyol Essence? Let me know!

As promised a while back, here I am with a gift guide series featuring small brands that have amazing products which would make unique gifts for loved ones. Today the brand I am excited to talk about is Elizabeth W, a unique small batch apothecary based in San Francisco.

When I was looking around for interesting brands to feature in this series, Elizabeth W caught my eye for their elegant and simple packaging. I am a big fan of aesthetically packaged products, even if it is just a bar of soap 😀 There is nothing more delightful than gifting (and of course receiving ) beautifully packaged products!

Elizabeth W started off as a perfumery and now they have incorporated their fragrances into a range of bath and body products, candles, room diffusers, beautiful silk sachets, sleep masks and more. Their website (HERE) is an absolute delight to explore!

I decided to feature their body oils in their 3 signature fragrances : Magnolia, Vetiver and Te for this series. As I mentioned before, they come in simple yet sophisticated packaging as you can see for yourself 🙂

Body Oils from Elizabeth W

Moving on from the packaging, lets talk about the body oils. These oils can be used on damp skin just before towel drying or they can be added to your bath water for a luxury bath. I mainly used the oil on my damp skin and loved it! My skin is super dry and the oil left my skin feeling soft and supple. The oils are winter must haves according to me!

The Magnolia fragrance is described on their website as follows: White magnolia petals deepened with saffron and sandalwood mingle with Riviera mimosa and gardenia. I could definitely get a whiff of the sandalwood when I used Magnolia and I think it is a very warm comforting fragrance. It somehow reminds me of my childhood and carefree simpler times and thus is my favorite one 🙂

Vetiver is described on their website as follows: An original creation of heavy vetiver, balanced with light citrus tones and green tints of bergamot from the peels of nearly ripe fruit. I loved this scent too and I think it is a unisex scent. If you like strong woody scents, this is for you!

Te is described as follows: Gracious, spirited, elegant. An enticing marriage of oriental black teas, juicy fresh Amalfi lemons, and the sweetness of almond honey. I find Te to be a crisp fresh scent which means I’ll be reaching for this in the spring summer time.

Elizabeth W body oils are housed in pretty glass dropper bottles

I love how distinct and unique each of these body oils are! There is something for everyone. They do have the body oils in other fragrances too so if you get a chance to visit their store in San Francisco do go smell them all 😀

The ingredient list is also simple and elegant, very much reflective of the brand as a whole.

Ingredient List

Overall, I am loving the body oils and would love to explore their other products. I think the 3 signature fragrances from Elizabeth W are unique and interesting in their own way. A DIY gift bundle such as this is a great gift for any one who loves trying out different scented bath and body products. So, if you have someone on your holiday list who loves perfumes and scented products, check out Elizabeth W.